US Federal Reserve lowers rates

The US Federal Reserve on Wednesday lowered its benchmark policy rate to the 4.25 per cent-4.50 per cent range, a full percentage point below where it stood in September when it began easing the tight monetary policy used to counter a surge in inflation that began in 2021.

How much further and how fast rates will fall next year remains increasingly uncertain with inflation still lodged above the Fed’s 2 per cent target, the economy growing faster than expected, and the prospect that President-elect Donald Trump’s tariff, tax and immigration policies could change the economic landscape in unpredictable ways once he takes office in January.

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In their most recent set of quarterly projections in September, Fed officials anticipated cutting the benchmark rate by another full percentage point to put it at around 3.4 per cent by the end of 2025.

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